The Creative Society

A few hundred years ago almost everyone was self-employed. Sure, the majority of people were peasant, in itself not a very creative occupation, but farming certainly gave the people of that time the earth connection which is today missing for many of today's city dwellers. And then there were the artisans in the medieval cities. They were creative, they worked with their hands and they knew there customers and suppliers well. A hint of what the upcoming creative and connected society is likely to look like.

Marx had a point. The Industrial Revolution alienated people, it uprooted the workers. Big businesses emerged and people had to work in corporations that were way too big for them to feel connected. Small enterprises were gobbled up in the process. Firms had the advantage of having access to capital, workers had to work for them and had few other alternatives.

A lot of this is changing now. In today's service sector economy you don't need much capital to get started. Technology is the only requirement and technology has become cheap. Information is at know fingertips, but using it requires that you know what to do with it. Creativity becomes the only input to produce anything of value today and with the help of social and professional networks it has become easy to collaborate with other around the globe.

The spiritual traveler is well positioned in this emerging creative society. Follow the Tao, live in the now and creativity will be abundant. Spiritual path travelers are flexible and creative like little children because this is what the Tao teaches you to be, yet they have the maturity and the wisdom to see warning signs along the Way and change course when necessary. Connecting with people is part of the daily fun and is more of a hobby for the Tao traveler than work. Dear reader, you are a crucial input to the creative society so please do your part in building it.